The UN is trying to understate the death toll in the conflict in Donbas. The Human Rights Ombudsman in the DPR Daria Morozova stated this in a commentary for RIA Novosti Crimea.
As the website RIA Novosti Crimea previously reported, the Head of the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, declared that in the course of the conflict in Donbas, 3367 people died and more than 7000 people were injured. The Deputy Head of the LPR Foreign Ministry Anna Soroka stated that these figures are not correct.
“I believe that the data on the number of civilians, who died as a result of the armed conflict in Donbas, announced by the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine, is understated. And the statistics that I maintain as the Ombudsman in the DPR confirms this. Thus, since the beginning of hostilities in the territory of the Republic, more than 4,9 thousand people have died”, – Daria Morozova said in the commentary for RIA Novosti Crimea.
She stressed that the Republic does not divide the dead people into the military and civilians.
“We consider as civilians even those who have died at the front. After all, these are people who, before the start of the conflict, had nothing to do with military affairs and special training. These people are representatives of peaceful professions like miners, metallurgists, locksmiths, doctors, who had to take up arms to defend their home”, – the Ombudsman emphasized.
She noted that the highest death toll was recorded in 2014-2015. “It was a period of fierce battles when the Republic was subjected to massive shelling every day. More than 3,8 thousand people died during this period. Within the period from 1 January 2016 to 22 September 2020, more than 1,1 thousand people died as a result of hostilities in the DPR”, – the Ombudsman said.
Daria Morozova drew attention to the fact that, according to the estimates of the Ombudsman’s Office in the DPR, more people died in the course of the conflict than the UN statistics show in the two Republics.
“To be honest, I was surprised by this discrepancy in the data. Especially considering the fact that we have established cooperation with the representatives of the UN, we always respond promptly to the requests from international organizations and provide the necessary relevant information”, – Daria Morozova summarized.
